Did We Overreact To Swine Flu Threat?
In light of the media coverage of the H1N1 flu outbreak over the past week and a half, you could be forgiven for being slightly surprised you aren't dead yet.
Consider this series of questions asked by CNN's John Roberts last Monday, which were flagged by NPR: "Is this the killer virus that we've all been fearing for decades? Is it just a threat? Is this 1976, where we had a small, contained outbreak, or is this 1918, where 20 million people died worldwide?"
Scary stuff. In fairness to Roberts, he was just asking questions about how bad things could get - not asserting that they were definitely going to get there. But when the specter of a "killer virus" is raised - and when media outlets (including CBS News) pepper their aggressive coverage with words like "pandemic" and breathlessly report each new diagnosed case - it's reasonable to expect that many will fear the worst.
There was certainly ample opportunity to fret: On the network news last week, swine flu stories took up a whopping 43 percent of airtime, according to the Project For Excellence In Journalism.
It came as no surprise, then, when facemasks began appearing on the streets of New York and other cities last week - despite their questionable value. Around the world, meanwhile, some governments have not exactly been models of rational and reasoned reaction. In China, more than 70 Mexicans were quarantined despite showing no signs of the flu, prompting charges of discrimination. In Egypt, more than 300,000 pigs were slaughtered despite the fact that no cases of the flu have been reported in the country - and that you can't get it from eating pork. ("Swine flu" isn't even really swine flu, exactly - it's two parts swine, one part avian, and a touch of human, though it did originate in pigs.)
And yet, as skeptics are all too happy to point out, most cases of the flu, outside an initial spate of fatalities in Mexico, have not been life threatening. Just one American citizen has died from the disease. Your standard everyday flu, by contrast, kills more than 100 people a day, and yet it is largely treated as a fact of life, not a grave threat.
So does all this add up to an overreaction? Well, maybe. But that's not the whole story.
It's certainly safe to say that the media have not shown much restraint in covering a flu that reporters have been all-too-happy to characterize as "deadly." Yet the press did not create the story out of thin air: The World Health Organization and Centers For Disease Control have been offering stark warnings about the disease from the outset. When the WHO suggests that a "pandemic is imminent," as it did last week, headlines are going to follow.
And despite the fact that the story has gotten less play this week, the world is not exactly in the clear. The biggest problem with media coverage of the flu, in fact, may be that reporters haven't always informed news consumers that the danger isn't necessarily only in the short term. The 1918 Spanish flu outbreak killed millions around the globe, but it didn't look so bad when it first emerged in the spring. By August, however, it had mutated to a far deadlier form.
"That's what has a lot of the experts frightened," infectious-disease specialist Dr. Neil O. Fishman told the New York Times. "When it recurs, there's the possibility it could be more virulent."
No one knows if that will happen. H1N1 could more-or-less disappear, leaving many of us scratching our heads over what the big deal was, or it could mutate into something significantly worse than what we've seen so far. The news has been relatively good in the short term -- tests have suggested both that many of us may have at least some immunity and that key components seem to be missing for the disease to fulfill our worst fears.
In the end, oddly enough, the sensationalistic media coverage may have been a positive: It has meant greater pressure on countries around the world to prepare for a potentially deadly mutation as well as the deployment of resources that might not have been available absent public outcry.
Does that mean the media should be commended for scaring Americans into stocking up on facemasks and dosing themselves unnecessarily with Tamiflu? Perhaps not. But the H1N1 outbreak may be one of those rare cases where a little sensationalism wasn't such a bad thing.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. Consider this series of questions asked by CNN's John Roberts last Monday, which were flagged by NPR: "Is this the killer virus that we've all been fearing for decades? Is it just a threat? Is this 1976, where we had a small, contained outbreak, or is this 1918, where 20 million people died worldwide?"
Scary stuff. In fairness to Roberts, he was just asking questions about how bad things could get - not asserting that they were definitely going to get there. But when the specter of a "killer virus" is raised - and when media outlets (including CBS News) pepper their aggressive coverage with words like "pandemic" and breathlessly report each new diagnosed case - it's reasonable to expect that many will fear the worst.
There was certainly ample opportunity to fret: On the network news last week, swine flu stories took up a whopping 43 percent of airtime, according to the Project For Excellence In Journalism.
It came as no surprise, then, when facemasks began appearing on the streets of New York and other cities last week - despite their questionable value. Around the world, meanwhile, some governments have not exactly been models of rational and reasoned reaction. In China, more than 70 Mexicans were quarantined despite showing no signs of the flu, prompting charges of discrimination. In Egypt, more than 300,000 pigs were slaughtered despite the fact that no cases of the flu have been reported in the country - and that you can't get it from eating pork. ("Swine flu" isn't even really swine flu, exactly - it's two parts swine, one part avian, and a touch of human, though it did originate in pigs.)
And yet, as skeptics are all too happy to point out, most cases of the flu, outside an initial spate of fatalities in Mexico, have not been life threatening. Just one American citizen has died from the disease. Your standard everyday flu, by contrast, kills more than 100 people a day, and yet it is largely treated as a fact of life, not a grave threat.
So does all this add up to an overreaction? Well, maybe. But that's not the whole story.
It's certainly safe to say that the media have not shown much restraint in covering a flu that reporters have been all-too-happy to characterize as "deadly." Yet the press did not create the story out of thin air: The World Health Organization and Centers For Disease Control have been offering stark warnings about the disease from the outset. When the WHO suggests that a "pandemic is imminent," as it did last week, headlines are going to follow.
And despite the fact that the story has gotten less play this week, the world is not exactly in the clear. The biggest problem with media coverage of the flu, in fact, may be that reporters haven't always informed news consumers that the danger isn't necessarily only in the short term. The 1918 Spanish flu outbreak killed millions around the globe, but it didn't look so bad when it first emerged in the spring. By August, however, it had mutated to a far deadlier form.
"That's what has a lot of the experts frightened," infectious-disease specialist Dr. Neil O. Fishman told the New York Times. "When it recurs, there's the possibility it could be more virulent."
No one knows if that will happen. H1N1 could more-or-less disappear, leaving many of us scratching our heads over what the big deal was, or it could mutate into something significantly worse than what we've seen so far. The news has been relatively good in the short term -- tests have suggested both that many of us may have at least some immunity and that key components seem to be missing for the disease to fulfill our worst fears.
In the end, oddly enough, the sensationalistic media coverage may have been a positive: It has meant greater pressure on countries around the world to prepare for a potentially deadly mutation as well as the deployment of resources that might not have been available absent public outcry.
Does that mean the media should be commended for scaring Americans into stocking up on facemasks and dosing themselves unnecessarily with Tamiflu? Perhaps not. But the H1N1 outbreak may be one of those rare cases where a little sensationalism wasn't such a bad thing.
Popular in Health
- Feet come first when it comes to body parts with most fungi
- Surgeons remove 4-pound hairball from tiger 10 Photos
- Cause of Alabama mystery illness cluster determined
- Heartburn raises throat cancer risk but antacids may help
- Mysterious respiratory disease infects 7 in Ala., 2 dead
- Airway made by 3D printer saves infant's life
- Almost all states seeing big drop in teen birth rates
- Skin cancer self-exam: What to look for (PHOTOS)
We elected leaders who would make decisions and take actions. Leaders around the world served this episode admirably.
President Calderon of Mexico is a very effective leader and deserves to be commended for his action. He made a decision at great cost to his own national economy, but saved thousands of lives of his country's citizens and ours.
Those who compared the Spanish Flu of 1918 with this flu publically, were doing a public service and it was apparent that many citizens of the USA have lost their trust for elected leaders. An unsophisticated cowboy image for a president from Texas, rarely inspires or wins public confidence on life or death dilemnas. An educated and eloquent image for a president with international life experience and mannerful appeal, wins public confidence much more easily.
As a medical professional, I beleive that anything is possible. Research is critical. Ultimately, it will be the virus who decides whom, where and how many will become ill.
That said, I live in a town that closed schools, cancelled field trips, cancelled awards ceremonies, cancelled TAKS tests, ....really disappointed a lot of kids. So it wasn't just a case of being careful, it was a case of making drastic decisions that caused people to be extremely fearful and panicked.
If we did nothing and tens of thousands died then everyone would say, after the fact, we did not react enough. If we react with great panic and nothing happens then we shouldn't have done what we did.
The pandemic of 1918 killed hundreds of thousands of people. This current problem is not over. If it does end without killing a lot of people then that's great. Just hope that the people that die isn't you or someone you love.
Another pandemic will come and depending on what we do or what we don't do will dictate the severity of it.
So lets all second guess everything hide our heads in the sand and do nothing......it will just all go away anyway right?.......
As for the media pumping this.....yes they do. It's the American way.....do anything you can to make a buck. You can see it right here on this forum. As I post this there is more than 15 pages of people posting their thoughts. From fear to calm thought.......from people staying on the subject at hand to the people that always make it the fault of the political parties......and as we do this the Host of the forum, CBS, reading our posts and trying to figure out a way to raise the level more........the more posts they have the better ratings they have.
I know that I have been very sarcastic here and I apologies for that. It becomes very difficult when so many people do not keep their eye on the ball. With time you will experience the loss of someone and there is no stopping that. To lose some one ...never to see them smile...never to hear their voice....never to walk beside them simply because there are people who will not be careful enough or do not take it seriously enough is beyond me.
Just remember.....people have died and will die because of the H1N1 virus .......that is NOT speculation......wash your hands and keep your hands away from your face.......do things to help prevent catching it.....if you do catch the flu.......cover your mouth when you cough, don't shake peoples hands, limit your contact with people until your over it....to help prevent spreading it.
May god be with you, yours and all of us during all of hard times and good times of our walk through life.
Glen
If we did nothing and tens of thousands died then everyone would say, after the fact, we did not react enough. If we react with great panic and nothing happens then we shouldn't have done what we did.
The pandemic of 1918 killed hundreds of thousands of people. This current problem is not over. If it does end without killing a lot of people then that's great. Just hope that the people that die isn't you or someone you love.
Another pandemic will come and depending on what we do or what we don't do will dictate the severity of it.
So lets all second guess everything hide our heads in the sand and do nothing......it will just all go away anyway right?.......
As for the media pumping this.....yes they do. It's the American way.....do anything you can to make a buck. You can see it right here on this forum. As I post this there is more than 15 pages of people posting their thoughts. From fear to calm thought.......from people staying on the subject at hand to the people that always make it the fault of the political parties......and as we do this the Host of the forum, CBS, reading our posts and trying to figure out a way to raise the level more........the more posts they have the better ratings they have.
I know that I have been very sarcastic here and I apologies for that. It becomes very difficult when so many people do not keep their eye on the ball. With time you will experience the loss of someone and there is no stopping that. To lose some one ...never to see them smile...never to hear their voice....never to walk beside them simply because there are people who will not be careful enough or do not take it seriously enough is beyond me.
Just remember.....people have died and will die because of the H1N1 virus .......that is NOT speculation......wash your hands and keep your hands away from your face.......do things to help prevent catching it.....if you do catch the flu.......cover your mouth when you cough, don't shake peoples hands, limit your contact with people until your over it....to help prevent spreading it.
May god be with you, yours and all of us during all of hard times and good times of our walk through life.
Glen
If we did nothing and tens of thousands died then everyone would say, after the fact, we did not react enough. If we react with great panic and nothing happens then we shouldn't have done what we did.
The pandemic of 1918 killed hundreds of thousands of people. This current problem is not over. If it does end without killing a lot of people then that's great. Just hope that the people that die isn't you or someone you love.
Another pandemic will come and depending on what we do or what we don't do will dictate the severity of it.
So lets all second guess everything hide our heads in the sand and do nothing......it will just all go away anyway right?.......
As for the media pumping this.....yes they do. It's the American way.....do anything you can to make a buck. You can see it right here on this forum. As I post this there is more than 15 pages of people posting their thoughts. From fear to calm thought.......from people staying on the subject at hand to the people that always make it the fault of the political parties......and as we do this the Host of the forum, CBS, reading our posts and trying to figure out a way to raise the level more........the more posts they have the better ratings they have.
I know that I have been very sarcastic here and I apologies for that. It becomes very difficult when so many people do not keep their eye on the ball. With time you will experience the loss of someone and there is no stopping that. To lose some one ...never to see them smile...never to hear their voice....never to walk beside them simply because there are people who will not be careful enough or do not take it seriously enough is beyond me.
Just remember.....people have died and will die because of the H1N1 virus .......that is NOT speculation......wash your hands and keep your hands away from your face.......do things to help prevent catching it.....if you do catch the flu.......cover your mouth when you cough, don't shake peoples hands, limit your contact with people until your over it....to help prevent spreading it.
May god be with you, yours and all of us during all of hard times and good times of our walk through life.
Glen
Seattle Times Mum On Swine Flu Deception
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa57Am0wScM&feature=channel_page
Posted by voxpopulus
If there's "Separation of church and state" then why weren't you screaming and hollering when Obama placed his hand on Lincoln's Bible at the inauguration, and also why weren't you kicking and screaming while the prayers were going on publicly in front of a couple million people at the inauguration?
Does that sound like "separation" to you?
Posted by voxpopulus
Look it up. It's not in the Constitution. It's a phrase that liberals have cherry picked from a letter Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists, and they've twisted it to mean "Separation from God".....because that's what liberals want. They don't want God involved in anything in America. That's the liberal agenda.